Official: Evidence of 2007 tornado still visible

Two years ago today, many residents were greeted by sights of
destruction and debris when they emerged from their homes in the
aftermath of the worst tornado to hit the area in at least 43 years.

The March 23, 2007, tornado killed two elderly residents, affected
about 500 homes — 55 were destroyed — and resulted in millions of
dollars of damage and clean up.

Yucca Middle School alone suffered nearly $1 million in damages.

The tornado also ravaged dairies in Roosevelt County as it made its
way to the south end of Clovis, before weaving north through central
residential areas of the city.

The majority of the recovery work is done, Clovis City Manager Joe
Thomas said, but there is still evidence of the destruction to be seen
around the community.

“You can still drive through the area and see remnants of damage
that have not been cleaned up. It was devastating to some who didn’t
have insurance,” he said.

“As far as general service to the community, I would say that we
have recovered, but there are people that were affected by the storm
that will never recover.”

Thomas said the tornado issued the community a stark reminder that,
“It is possible that we can be the victims of natural disasters,” and
in the aftermath, emergency preparedness has taken on new meaning.

Thomas said the community was lauded by federal responders for high
efficiency and fluid response to the crisis, but the practice and
planning continues.

Local Emergency Management Director Ken De Los Santos said the
community has long had an emergency planning component and the Local
Emergency Planning Committee, a body with about 80 members, began
growing in 2003 under new direction.

But the tornado, declared a disaster by former President George Bush, was a test, and they passed it, he said.

De Los Santos said estimates would place damage and recovery costs
in the neighborhood of $8 to $10 million, not including countless
volunteer and good samaritan efforts that went untracked.

When disaster hit, he said everyone knew their role and the pieces of the response and recovery puzzle slid together nicely.

“It worked extremely well,” he said.

“It was a good experience just to see that. We had so many things in
place. We had the right people in the right place at the right time and
we continue to plan and prepare and practice.”

Seeing the response first hand and having been through it in real
life as opposed to in theory, De Los Santos said minor issues did
arise, namely in the area of communication, but they were quickly
handled and have been incorporated into future planning so they aren’t
repeated.

And if another tornado were to strike, which is likely based on
history and geographic predisposition, De Los Santos said he believes
the area is prepared to deal with it again.

“It could happen anytime. Our storm season is usually April to
September (and) we’re in tornado alley, so we can have that any time,”
he said.

Tornado history: Curry County has recorded five F2 tornadoes since records have been kept:

• June 10, 1932

• Sept. 17, 1944

• May 24, 1957

• June 11, 1964

• March 23, 2007.

An F2 includes wind speeds greater than 113 mph. The county has not
seen a tornado greater than F2 in 75 years of record keeping.

By the numbers:

20 —Million pounds of debris from the tornado taken to the landfill

35 — Patients treated at the hospital for tornado-related injuries, 4 were admitted and 2 later died.

55 — Homes destroyed

160 — People sheltered in hotels after the tornado

500 — Homes affected by the tornado

$200,000 — Provided from local money to cover needs not met by federal assistance